Poor humidity levels can cause a number of issues in your home. Sure, a little static electricity can be fun for a second, but not for long. You may find that your hair and skin are dry. You’re more susceptible to colds and other minor infections. In extreme cases, there may even be damage to the wood in your home—your tables, chairs, and floors—or even to your electronics.
Here are 6 easy ways to alleviate dry air in your home:
1. Find and Seal Air Leaks
If there’s dry air in your home, it’s because there a leak somewhere bringing in the dry, cold air of fall and winter. The places where air leaks occur most often are your exterior-facing doors and windows. However, you may also check your attic for cracks in the ceiling. Once you have located the air leaks, you can seal them by replacing the weather stripping around your door, re-caulking your windows (or even replacing them with double-pane glass), and caulking the cracks in your attic ceiling.
2. Boil a Pot of Water
Place a large pot of water on the stove and boil it, without placing the lid on the pot. This way, the steam can rise and fill the air, humidifying it in a simple, cheap way. You don’t have to break the bank to breathe easier this fall and winter!
3. Air Dry Your Clothes Indoors
Another way to bring a little moisture into your home—and save a little money on your energy bill—is to hang your clothes out to dry, indoors. As your clothes dry, the moisture from the fabric will rise into the air. It’s similar to the boiling water tip, but it doesn’t evaporate quite as fast, making this a slightly longer-lasting solution.
4. Nurture Air-Purifying Plants
Certain plants have a purifying effect on the air in your home. Just as the water evaporates from clothes as you dry them indoors, the water from the plants evaporates (much more slowly) into the air to provide a humidifying, purifying solution for you. Here are a few plants you can choose from:
- Boston Fern
- Chinese Evergreen
- Devil’s Ivy
- Dragon Tree
- English Ivy
- Hoya Carnosa
- Kenia Palm
- Peace Lilly
- Wheatgrass
When you take care of these indoor plants, these plants take care of you.
5. Get a Humidifier
Of course, there’s always the option to purchase a humidifier for your home. It will help, but only in the room that the humidifier is actually in. Similar to the other solutions above, this one works, but has limited range and is only temporary.
6. Whole-Home Humidification
For optimum home comfort, you want the humidity in your home between 30% and 60%, ideally between 40% and 55%. If your home is dry and uncomfortable, then your humidity level is probably somewhere around 15% to 30%. Let us fix that for you with a whole-home humidification solution. Call Acree to schedule an appointment for easy ways to alleviate dry air in your home.
